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I possess some thoughts about the comments made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown was understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it presented the chance to beat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and concussive power on both forehand and backhand are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often helpless. The last several years has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use excessive energy to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not just say his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {